Devices including band and strap wrap-around carrying means for lifting, handling and carrying large, heavy, cumbersome and/or awkwardly shaped articles are well known to the art. The problems of handling such objects are known to the very ancient arts. Many attempts have been made to satisfactory solve these problems, including the specific problems of handling mattresses. The latter problem has become more difficult and urgent as mattresses have increased in size (particularly including queen and king size mattresses), thickness, weight and bulk.
Anyone who has attempted to move mattresses from one room to another, from one house or apartment to another or from an interior room to a vehicle and vice versa, knows that:
(1) generally, at least two people must be involved, particularly the larger and more cumbersome the mattress;
(2) the conventional handles (often or sometimes provided by mattress manufacturers on the sides and/or ends of new mattresses) are relatively ineffective (in direct proportion to the size and bulk of the mattress) and, often, they pull out or sometimes even are not present;
(3) single bed size mattresses are generally fairly easy to handle with two cooperating adults, but double and queen size mattresses, to say nothing of king size mattresses, are really very difficult to handle, even for two young, strong, healthy and vigorous individuals.
Movers, whether professional or amateur, in moving bed assemblies, have to handle (1) the bed frame, whatever structure it may be (2) the box springs, if present, and (3) the mattress or mattresses. Generally speaking, the frame may be broken down or, at least is sufficiently rigid that it can be handled as a unit, in whole or part. Box spring, while heavy and cumbersome because of their relatively rigid structure, are usually themselves not too difficult to handle, provided the individuals moving them are strong, etc. enough. With respect to mattresses, however, not only the size, but also the lack of rigidity in the mattress structure particularly make such often extremely difficult to handle.
Typical moves for bed elements are from store or storage areas to vehicles, from vehicle to dwellings, from room to room in dwellings, apartments or the like and the reverse (out of the building and into the vehicle, etc). These moves often involve going up and/or down stairs, through doors, corridors, multiple doors, around turns and and the like. The handling of mattresses can be not only difficult and energy consuming, but also extremely frustrating. Accordingly, various means have been devised in the prior art to attempt to handle these problems. Such means have not proved sufficiently satisfactory that they have been universally adopted. The problem of optimally moving and handling mattresses has not yet been solved. Those problems inherent in grappling, lifting, carrying and handling objects of the mattress size, lack of rigidity, shape, etc. will not go away, and badly need to be solved.